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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

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    • mclaincauseyM
      mclaincausey
      見習いボス
      Joined:

      A piece on one of my favorite books (and the funniest I've ever read) came up on my Facebook feed this morning, and it linked to a pretty good review of A Confederacy of Dunces.

      The main character, Ignatius Reilly, is spleen-rupturingly hilarious. He fancies himself a medieval soul trapped in an age of abomination. The scenes that Toole paints of New Orleans are reverent and real.

      Think it, be it.

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      • M
        Maynard Friedman
        Joined:

        'The Free' by Willy Vlautin, a healthy dose of American Reality (rather than Dream). Highly readable and recommended.

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        • MastersOfDeathM
          MastersOfDeath
          Iron Heart Deity
          Joined:

          @mclaincausey:

          A Confederacy of Dunces

          I love this book and I know quite a few real life Ignatiuses. If I ever visit NO I'd have to wear a hunting hat.*
          I gave it as a birthday gift to a friend of mine. he looked confused, and as he flipped through the pages said; "there's a lot of words isn't there?" - sigh…..

          *with earflaps of course

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          • B
            bubbapest
            Raw and Unwashed
            Joined:

            @natehate:

            @bubbapest:

            just started reading seriously this year.  so far this year i've read:
            1Q84 - Murakami (first half awesome, 2nd sucked)
            Norwegian Wood - Murakami (was pretty good, but defeinitely would have liked it better had i read it when i was 20)
            Slaughterhouse 5 - Vonnegut (loved it, one of my favorites)
            Breakfast of Champions - Vonnegut (hated it)
            The Rum Diary - Hunter S Thompson (loved it, one of my favorites)
            Inherent Vice - Thomas Pynchon (funny, but didnt get the point of the book and was very confusing)
            Reign In Blood - DX Ferris (wasnt well written, but learned a lot about Def Jam, Rick Rubin and Slayer \m/)
            The Road - Cormac McCarthy (jesus…)

            finishing up Fear and Loathing right now

            hahaha thats lite reading in the world of cormac mccarthy
            wait until you try and take on blood meridian hahaha

            challenge accepted.  i just have to get through the rest of fear and loathing on the campaign trail 72.  didnt much care for fear and loathing in las vegas… but i dont have any experience with hallucinogenic drugs so i couldnt relate

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            • PSBP
              PSB
              Joined:

              Reviving this old thread because I just ordered this book that I learned about from the Heddels Instagram account:

              I was trying to explain my affinity for Japanese-made denim to a friend and as I was telling him that Japanese brands were making incredible vintage American-style workwear, he asked why. I really didn't have an answer. Maybe I will after reading this.

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              • GilesG
                Giles
                IHUK Crew
                Joined:

                Thank you.  Just ordered….

                "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                • Megatron1505M
                  Megatron1505
                  見習いボス
                  Joined:

                  I have it incoming too…..

                  Btw, book tip for anyone who loves Japan. "The Roads To Sata" by Alan Booth, it's written by an English man who lived in Japan and walked from from the Northern tip of Hokkaido down to the Southern tip of Kyushu. Great read.

                  Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

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                  • ChrisC
                    Chris
                    Raw and Unwashed
                    Joined:

                    @PSB:

                    I'm 150 pages in…

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                    • PSBP
                      PSB
                      Joined:

                      @Chris - how is it? Worth the purchase?

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                      • ChrisC
                        Chris
                        Raw and Unwashed
                        Joined:

                        Kinda early to say.  So far, it focuses less on the workwear segment of men's clothing (which is what I sort of assumed it would cover) and more on the broader concept of creating a sense of fashion for men and a consumer culture in post-war Japan.  It's examined a couple of trends in the 50s and 60s and how they reflected broader cultural changes, which is interesting, but not exactly what I expected.

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                        • PSBP
                          PSB
                          Joined:

                          I see. I assumed it was about the workwear aspect as well. I hope that is examined at some point, but I'm interested in reading it regardless. Thanks for the info.

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                          • Megatron1505M
                            Megatron1505
                            見習いボス
                            Joined:

                            I just read the GQ interview with the author of Ametora, and he talks about the importance of the brand "A Bathing Ape". It always annoys me when people downplay or mock the influence of Bape on everything we love about Japanese clothing, it wasn't always camo hoodies and Nike rip offs.

                            Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

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                            • dylantbmayesD
                              dylantbmayes
                              Joined:

                              Does the author elaborate on the brands importance?

                              INSTAGRAM: @DYLANTBMAYES | FACEBOOK.COM/DYLANTBMAYES

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                              • Megatron1505M
                                Megatron1505
                                見習いボス
                                Joined:

                                He says that a lot of things started with Bathing Ape when referencing Japanese clothing impacting popular American culture.

                                Most folks just remember camo and Kanye, but that all came years after Bathing Ape started to impact popular culture.

                                Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

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                                • dylantbmayesD
                                  dylantbmayes
                                  Joined:

                                  Unfortunately the author (in that instance) seems to be referencing the Kanye years, the early 2000's, when BAPE opened in NY.

                                  You sparked my interest for a moment there, thinking he would elaborate on the influences American culture had on NIGO in the early 90's and then the subsequent influence BAPE had in America…

                                  Perhaps he will touch on that in the book.

                                  INSTAGRAM: @DYLANTBMAYES | FACEBOOK.COM/DYLANTBMAYES

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                                  • GraemeG
                                    Graeme
                                    啓蒙家
                                    Joined:

                                    These days BAPE is all about gold Rolexes…

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                                    • ChrisC
                                      Chris
                                      Raw and Unwashed
                                      Joined:

                                      @dylantbmayes:

                                      thinking he would elaborate on the influences American culture had on NIGO in the early 90's and then the subsequent influence BAPE had in America…

                                      Perhaps he will touch on that in the book.

                                      He did.  Bape was covered largely to show the rise of natively developed Japanese fashion influence, both domestically and globally.  It marked a change in that Japanese fashion was developed with no significant basis in American or European fashion, (unlike most previous American rooted trends) and intended for Japanese consumers (unlike previous Japanese designers like Miyake and Yamamoto, who hit first in Europe).

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                                      • louisboscoL
                                        louisbosco
                                        啓蒙家
                                        Joined:

                                        im in japan, reckon i could find that anywhere?

                                        "Loyalty is a two way street. If i'm asking for it from you, then you're getting it from me."

                                        • Harvey Specter
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                                        • Megatron1505M
                                          Megatron1505
                                          見習いボス
                                          Joined:

                                          I just have fond memories of the old days when the first UK exposure to Bape was through Ian Brown and UNKLE. Back then Bape, Wtaps and Neighborhood were making really cool street wear…..then Kanye happened and Nigo went a bit nuts.

                                          Made in England, clothed in Japan, fed in America and drunk in Belgium !

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                                          • dylantbmayesD
                                            dylantbmayes
                                            Joined:

                                            Thanks, @Chris!

                                            I can now see what you mean when you say not what you expected…

                                            Do you think the book covers too broad a scope?

                                            INSTAGRAM: @DYLANTBMAYES | FACEBOOK.COM/DYLANTBMAYES

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